Much Prettier
by Blaze0843
Summary: Because she's more beautiful when she's not crying.


**Okay, I've got a bit of explaining to do. I was going to upload a new chapter to my story, but I left for Europe on July 4th and didn't get back until the 18th. So I decided to just write this little piece up to give you guys something. I WOULD finish writing the chapter and upload it, but I left all my notes at my mom's house while I am currently at my dad's house. As soon as I get back there and finish it, I'll put it up. Until then, this will do. Enjoy. **

Your footsteps alerted her to your approach. You could tell. But she didn't raise her beautiful, violet eyes from the torn book she let her fingers graze over. Yet, there was a smile pursed on her lips, as if she was amused you would even try. She was a Seer, after all. It was impossible to get the jump on her. And you knew that as well, but she always let you. For some reason, she'd never try to stop you, and then she'd act all surprised like she didn't know you were coming, even though you were fairly certain she knew. She'd never do that out of pity. Maybe it wasn't out of pity?

Before you know it, you wrap your arms around her neck and chest, planting a small kiss on her cheek while trying to read what was over her shoulder. "Good mornin'. You're up early." You say, leaning perhaps just a bit too far over her shoulder.

She immediately shut the book and hid the cover underneath the wool blanket covering her. "I'm always astir before you." It was true. You noticed she had already gotten ready; dressed, hair straightened, teeth brushes, and the clock read 6:52. "_Somebody _has to make breakfast."

"At 7:00 in the morning on a weekend?" You grin, sliding over the board of the couch so you can cuddle next to her. "I don't have to work today, you know."

She gives a brief nod. "I am aware, just thought you'd appreciate the effort." A solemn glance she gives to you, before immediately smiling. A fake smile.

"Of course I do!" You say, a bit quickly, trying to disregard any disrespect towards her. "I mean, you're much better than I am. I couldn't make a simple egg and toast."

"Well, you could always live on bread and cheese." She chuckles and leans into you finally, a bit more relaxed, but the lump of the book she was reading underneath the blanket made you both a bit uncomfortable. However, she never made the bother to move it. Maybe it was stuck in place, and she didn't want to lose it?

"Did you already eat?" You say, taking a big whiff of a warm and toasty breakfast just waiting for you in the kitchen. It answers your question, but she still responds.

"No, I waited for you." She finally slid the book off her lap, still hiding it under the blanket. "But it's only been sitting for perhaps three minutes, so the probability of it being cold is unlikely."

"Sorry for making you wait." You apologize sincerely, kissing her jawbone and allowing her to sit up. "Are Dave and Jade still coming to that show tonight? What was it called now? Uh... Circus..."

"Cirque du Soleil." She corrected, standing up and stretching, "It's French for _Circus of the Sun_."

"As long as there's acrobatics doing crazy stunts, I'm all for it." You stand up alongside, straightening out the blanket as a cover for getting the book. Surprisingly, she allows you to do so, and you realize that she was a step ahead of you; she'd moved the book. You say nothing, though, and continue to fold. Rose straightens out the pillows for you, fluffing them softly and making sure the zipper is down.

You realize her eyes are scanning over your body. "You're still in pajamas?"

"Yup. The ones with the little ducks on 'em too." You laugh, strutting your stuff in the overly-tight pajama pants. Rose pretends to snap some photos and laughs, nodding in approval as you start more poses.

"As a photo shoot director would say, 'Work it, Johnny!'" She laughs softly and snaps a few more with her invisible camera. You continue to do insane and crazy poses, such as balancing on one leg and holding your other foot with your hand, your other hand's index finger poking your lips softly, as if you were pouting. You try again with more stupid stunts, such as holding both hands out from your chin with a large (and somewhat scary) smile.

"How about this?" You say, strutting your hips forward and resting your arms behind the back of your neck. This time, Rose couldn't hold in the laughter, having to put her hands to her mouth to keep from snorting. You grin in accomplishment, waiting for her to recover when you realize your being watched.

"What the _fuck _are you two doing?" Dave. Crap.

You both turn your heads simultaneously towards the door, in which Dave and Jade are both staring; Jade in laughter and Dave in, well, awkwardness. You blush bright red and notice that Rose has already shuffled off towards the kitchen.

"Heh. Heh." You struggle to say anything at all. "I'll uh, be right back." You point towards the nearby hallway, connecting your room with the rest of the house. You slide into the room and close the door softly behind you, your head resting against the door in embarrassment. Heck, if _you _were embarrassed, Rose probably felt like crap now. You'll have to make it up to her later.

A large, queen bed sits in the middle of the far wall, surrounded by twin end tables made of hardwood, a dark brown color. The quilts are black and white, a mixture that seemed to work for the rest of the room, despite the brown tables. You'll have to get rid of those, or paint them later.

You pull open your clothes drawer, putting on just a simple T-Shirt and jeans, laughing at your duck pajama pants as you throw them into the clothes bin. You sit on your bed, giving yourself a few minutes to recover before you go back out there and face the storm. Dave's probably just _waiting _for you to come out, a sly smile on his face. Jade was probably chasing after Rose.

Oh Gog... you do a pretty good job of embarrassing yourself.

Okay, show time. You go open your door slowly, peeking out just a bit to see where Dave was. Slowly, you step outside, shutting the door softly behind you and start making your way to the living room, expecting him to be right around the-

"Hey."

"Gahh!" You cry out, flailing around as you make a swift 180 degree turn to find Dave right behind you all along. "Damn ninja!"

"You know it." His signature sly smile was to be expected, and the two of you make your way to the living room. You motion for him to sit down on the couch, while you take a seat on the recliner.

"So, what the hell were you doin' with Rose?" You expected him to roll his eyes behind his shades, but it's impossible to see. "Some porn photo shoot?"

"What the- no!" You croak, caught by surprise. "Wh- ho- what gave you _that _idea?"

"Relax, John." He gives a soft chuckle and puts his arm over the head of the couch. "I'm just messin' with you..." he trails off, "as long as it's not true...?"

"Dave!"

"Okay, okay." Dave chuckles and finally gives it up, changing the subject. "So, how's it going for you two? Haven't seen you in awhile. You takin' care of my ectobio-whatever sister?"

"Y'know, _technically _you're only siblings because of SBURB." You say, matter-of-factly. "But yes, of course I have. Couldn't think of treating her as anything other than a princess." You laugh, and quickly throw out, "What made you the protective brother type?"

"Having all of us nearly die about a billion times over, and then actually _die_?"

"Technically, we all rose from GodTier from that, but I can see your point." You shrug, "So, what exactly are you doing here? You're _really _early. About four hours early, in fact. I thought Dave's wake-up time was around noon?"

"Jade forced me up. Said we should all eat breakfast together. I told her Rose probably only made breakfast for the two of you, but y'know Jade." You nod, a grin on your face as you realized the coercion powers of Jade truly were greater than you thought. If she could persuade _Dave_, then who's to say she can't persuade the president of the United States? "What made you the technical type?"

You laugh and raise your arms as a gesture of defeat. "I hope the flight wasn't too long?"

"Yeah, about that: why the hell do you guys have to live out here? It was almost a three hour drive, plus that three hour flight. And New York traffic... oh don't get me started." Dave let out a groan, and rubbed his eyes beneath his shades, but you could never see his eyes.

You laugh out loud, giving a shrug of apology. "That's why we walk."

"Boys, breakfast's ready!" You hear Jade's chipper voice coming from the kitchen, so you sit up and wait for Dave by the entrance to the kitchen. Going underneath the arch, you enter your quaint little kitchen... okay, it's not little, but then again, your house isn't really either. Beige tiles lined the floor, as well as a medium brown-purple color for the walls. Rose stood at the counter, tilting the pan in order to make sure the egg didn't break when it hit the plate. She looked up at you and gave a soft smile, and you returned it.

"Omelette?" She said softly, placing the plate on the rectangular table, lined with polished and dark wood. Black chairs lined the sides, while one was already filled by Jade. You took a seat opposite from her, with Rose next to you and Dave opposite from her. This left only the end chairs open.

"I really wish I knew how to cook as good as you, Rose." Jade whined as she tore through her spinach, cheddar, and tomato omelette, picking out a few large chunks of tomato, being the picky eater she is. Dave poked through his slowly, only nodding in agreement to her statement.

"Well so do I. So that makes two of us." You grin, already eating through yours (made with chicken, especially for you. Rose knows you so well). Rose's being a vegetarian, but not because she _is _vegetarian. She's explained to you before that "meat is too greasy in the morning," and you'd rather not go through that again.

"Dave, I heard you established your own recording studio?" Rose suddenly spoke out, trying to keep the focus off her, like she normally does.

Dave shrugged, trying to shake off the conceited part of him that wanted to brag, but you saw through it easily. "Well, yeah. I mean, it's me and this girl named Valerie, but we've already made a ton of records in rap. Man, I even did some of my own."

"Really? You should do some!" You speak out, and see a cringe form on Rose's face. All you do is laugh.

"Okay, okay: Jegus fuckin' christ, look who-"

"Alright, I'm sure we can all listen to some of Dave's rap another time." Rose instantly spoke out, but all Dave did was grin, as if it said, "mission accomplished." Jade let out a giggle, and you went back to eating your omelette.

You were the first one done, so you put your plate in the dishwasher, kiss Rose's cheek, and then walk into the living room to let the three catch up.

But, really, the main reason you're out here... might as well admit it: to find that book. Because, normally, you wouldn't have cared; she reads about twenty books a week. It's the fact that she tried to _hide_ it from you that made you curious. What does Rose have to hide? You'd rather not jump to conclusions, but it can be pretty difficult. You manage to keep your mind on a leash for now.

It wasn't in the blanket, so she moved it, right? Where did she put it then? Under the coffee table? No. Under the couch? No. Dammit, you knew she was good at finding stuff (take, for example, your many pranks), but she was never one to hide. It almost hurt that she didn't trust you with something. You told each other _everything _from your day at work to those embarrassing childhood stories (the ones before SBURB).

You hear footsteps, so you throw yourself onto the couch, scrambling pillows everywhere, and pressing the remote with your foot. Good timing too, because it was Rose walking down the hall.

"John?" She says, suspicious, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, just watching..." You trail off, trying to recognize the T.V. Show, "... scrubs?" You flick it off in disgust and rub the back of your head as she sits down on the couch next to you, picking up a pillow that hit the floor hard after you tumbled onto the couch.

"Are you okay?" She asked, a tone of sincerity in her voice that made it painful to lie to, and made her adorable.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for breakfast." You thank her, just like you do every morning.

"Of course." She smiles, softly, but still a smile. "If you say so." She didn't delve deeper, since she knew better than that. When you say you're fine, you're _fine. _

"Hey guyyyys." Jade calls, stepping into the room with both her arms around Dave's neck. "While we're waiting for the show, can we watch a movie?"

Your face lights up, while Dave's dims. "If it's got Nic Cage in it, I'm good!" Rose gives a giggle, and Dave a groan. A CD on the coffee table that's there in case you ever feel like forcing Rose to sit through two hours of boring story is popped into the tray, and you all squeeze onto the three-person couch.

The seats are comfortable, the snacks okay, and the show... _amazing. _It's like all these different colors just flying and dancing across the stage, almost blinding you. Jade is entranced by the show, Dave half-asleep, and Rose just leaning on you.

"How are you enjoying it?" You whisper into her ear.

"Mmm..." A sleepy mumble is all you get, so you leave her to rest, but Dave... well, he's at your mercy, isn't he? Jade seems to be having a great time, though, accidentally throwing some chips in the air and landing on the poor souls in the rows in front and below them. The amphitheater is large, and you estimate it could fit about... what, maybe ten thousand? Okay, that may be a little bit over-estimated, but whatever. It's big, that's the point. And loud.

It's been about thirty minutes into the show, and it's already getting pretty exciting. They're swinging from across the stage on trapeze that are just barely visible, only if you look directly at them. They did a pretty good job of covering them up, but you don't really think they were trying to. Maybe it's just your glasses? You wipe them off using your shirt and put them back on, trying to do so without stirring Rose.

You hear Jade squeal a bit as some juggling torch-wielders come on stage. You notice Rose is awake now, clutching your arm as they throw the lighted wood in the air.

"Rose?" You ask, but she doesn't respond. Frozen. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She finally responds after a moment of silence. "I'm okay. I'm fine." Rose goes back to leaning on your shoulder, and you make a mental note to check on her every now and then.

The show goes on, to the point where they're doing small magic tricks. You have a feeling Rose is rolling her eyes at their "humorous attempts" as she would put it. But you keep on staring, not even sure if you're processing what's going on.

You hardly realize it's past ten o'clock as you all herd out of the theater, followed by a horde of people making it difficult to keep together. The four of you head outside, where the cool air meets your warm body and makes you shiver.

"So... who's awake enough to drive?" Dave yawns, stretching his arms and stumbling over to the car in a daze. You raise your hand in volunteer, jumping into the front seat while Jade and Dave take the backseat, leaving Rose in the front with you.

She sleeps most of the way there, along with Dave and Jade. The two of them look so cute leaning against each other in the back, but it kind of looks like they're rubbing their faces together in a really weird way. You see Rose blink a few times, indicating that she's awake, but extremely drowsy. You just keep on driving, careful not to fall asleep yourself.

You drop off Jade and Dave at their hotel, and watch them sleepily stumble into the lobby. Rose is almost completely asleep, so you make sure to drive back as quickly as you can.

It's nearly midnight when you get back, and you feel your eyelids are like lead. You both drag yourselves into the house, barely conscious. Rose walks into the kitchen to run the dishwasher, while you throw yourself onto the couch in a daze, too tired to really think. Groaning against the couch, you vow never to stay up past ten ever again.

You decide to lean your head on the pillow, when you stop and realize something... the pillow's _hard. _Like, rock hard. Startled, you pad around the area, and find that the shape of the rock is rectangular.

The book!

You unzip the bottom of the pillow, turn it over, and pull the book out. A green cover with a tattered spine, as if it's about to fall apart. The pages yellow, tinted with not just age, but darkness. As you turn each page, you realize what this is.

The one she wrote. The memories of everything that happened... and then you happen upon the messed-up shipping square drawn in purple pen. Great transition there.

"John, the dishwash-," She stops mid-sentence, realizing you found what she tried to hide all along. A look of guilt and sadness replaces her pale face, and you realize what you've done.

"Rose, I-" But it's too late. She's already walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"Open up, Rose!" You call out from the hallway after chasing her down. You curse silently to yourself, at yourself, and call again, desperate to make sure she's alright.

She finally unlocks the door, and lets you in. You open the door slowly, a soft sobbing coming from behind. Rose is hugging her knees into her chest, her face

"Rose..." You whisper, trying to reach out to her. She doesn't turn away, but you can tell she'd rather be alone.

"I just... I don't know..." she chokes out, holding her face so that her voice is a bit muffled. "I just can't take everything. Our lives, and her, and-"

"Her? Rose, you can't blame-"

"But it _is _my fault. I should have gone looking for her. You at least went looking for your dad, I didn't even care..." She whispered, "I didn't even try."

"Rose... please..." You wrap your arms around her, wiping away her tears as she finally sits up, her face swollen red. "It's okay. I swear, it's okay. I know it hurts. But you got through it strong, and you can keep going. Just listen to the sound of my voice." Her sobbing quiets for a bit, and you continue, "You've been so brave, I know. You didn't have to say 'I love you.' She already knew you did." Her violet eyes look up to meet your blue ones, blinking away more tears.

"John... thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, Rose." And you lean in and put your lips to her cracked ones. Soft and gentle; romantic, not hard. You were always gentle with her, never wanting to hurt her. You'd never leave her. Stay by her side.

She's the only one who knows how you really feel. On the inside.

You love the feel of her lips against yours, but you break the kiss to just hold her, feeling the cold of her ring against your bare neck. You love the feel of that, because it's the sparkly, yet small diamond one. The one you proposed with to her. But it's not the ring itself that matters. It's the meaning of that ring. To be honest, you and she couldn't care less if you got the biggest ring, throw the biggest wedding bash, make the fanciest dinner. As long as you've got each other, it doesn't matter. It may sound cheesy, but it was true.

"You okay now?" You ask her, never letting the hug go. Your eyes fall on a photo standing on your dresser; a silver frame with a heart at the bottom. You can remember that like it was yesterday. You invited Rose to the beach, without telling Dave and Jade. She was confused at first. Although, maybe she was just acting. You don't really know, but she went along anyways. Clad in just a bathing suit and an over-dress, while you wore your fanciest suit. That was definitely a surprise. And you went down on one knee, and she just lost it. She accepted before you even had the chance to ask.

"Yeah." Rose nods, her forehead fitting into the crook of your neck perfectly. "I still miss her."

"I know." You whisper. "I miss my dad too. But there's a whole new family right here." You kiss her cheek and grin. "Rose Egbert. How does that sound?"

"Not to be rude, but kind of stupid." You just laugh at her and let the hug go.

"Yeah," you agree, "Rose Lalonde is much prettier."


End file.
